Gone Fishing
by Kaesteranya
Summary: The group takes a break, Goku goes fishing, and much strangeness is abound. Prepare to read a short that'll make no sense at all.


    My first Saiyuki fanfic, so go easy on me… comments and constructive criticism are well appreciated. Flames will be cheerfully ignored.  
    Prepare to read a short that means nothing and will perhaps make no sense at all.  
  
  
  


**Gone Fishing**

  
  
    He no longer felt compelled to wake up in the morning.  
    If he had his choice, he wouldn't do so anymore.  
    Gojyo's eyes blinked open, and as soon as his vision cleared to a bearable extent the kappa groaned and grumbled something incoherent into his pillow, wishing that he could lock out the world again. The sun was shining through the window with it's typical over-enthusiasm... Gojyo speculated that it was burning the skin off his bare feet by then, other than filling his room with light, light, light and more light.  
    At that moment, Gojyo rather intelligently decided to assess the situation. He was lying on his stomach with his face buried in his pillow, his left arm sprawled over the wide empty expanse beside him and his right arm dangling over the edge of the other side of the bed. The blanket he had curled up in the other night had somehow shifted positions without his consent, leaving his legs exposed.  
    Lastly, he had a headache. It was a very big, nasty, EVIL headache.     _I don't even have a woman beside me either. I highly disapprove._     A loud crash sounded from below, followed by two very familiar voices... 

    "Stupid monkey! Small wonder you fell into the river!"  
    "Waaah! I didn't mean to, Sanzo! It's just that, there was this nice-looking fish in the river, and--"  
    The whining voice promptly cut off at the sound of a gunshot. Had Gojyo mustered up the strength to look, he would have seen a new little hole that the priest had oh-so-conveniently created with the bullet of his Smith and Wesson.  
    "Sanzo, you're so MEAN!"  
    Bang, bang. Two more holes joined the first in Gojyo's bedroom floor.  
    "Serves you right, baka! Trying to catch fish with your bare hands..."  
    More scuffling. More shouts. Something crashed to the floor.  
    This prompted Gojyo to grumble another obscenity into his pillow. He instantly regretted ever volunteering his place as a stopover during the group's long journey... at this rate, that insane priest and that annoying little monkey would tear it apart between them.  
    _Sigh. All of a sudden I wish I could sue the Three Aspects for creating days like this._  
    The kappa rose up from bed, and every single muscle in his body groaned in protest. He shook his head with the simple intention of clearing his murky thoughts, and promptly succeeded in getting himself very dizzy and all the more irritated at the world. With that, Gojyo ventured out of his room and returned to the reality that he had learned to hate.  
    _Might as well put a stop to it before things get really nasty..._  


    As expected, the living room was a scene of utter chaos. Sanzo had just finished whacking Goku with his trusty fan, and was now stomping off towards the bathroom, tucking his Smith and Wesson away as he walked along. Goku was seated on the floor (dripping river water all over it, of course), rubbing his head and pouting.  
    "That really hurt, Sanzo..."  
    "Shut up."  
    "Top of the morning to you too," Gojyo couldn't help but add just as Sanzo came his way. The only thing he received in response was a grunt and a sharp, irritated wave of the blonde priest's hand. Sanzo truly was about a thousand miles away from what Gojyo perceived as a priest, but he was certainly prettier than anyone would have expected… ditch the death threats and the cussing, and Sanzo Genjo would be gold and ivory perfection combined.  
    Gojyo's thoughts were a loud, almost obscene grumbling sound. One look at Goku's sheepish face brought a grin to Gojyo's lips.  
    "Hungry?"  
    "Yeah... I tried to go fishing earlier, but it didn't work out too well..."  
    "Right."  


    Two days ago, heavy rains and water in Jipu/Hakuryuu's engine had forced the four travelling companions to find the nearest shelter and await better weather. Luckily, they had been in the general vicinity of Gojyo's village, and the kappa promptly offered his place (Sanzo would have blown his head off with his gun if he hadn't, of course). The rain had only recently stopped, and the sun was back out...  
    Strangely, Sanzo showed no signs of hustling them along. Normally, the priest would have been VERY irritated about losing more travelling time and would have been rearing to get on the road again...  
    Gojyo wasn't complaining too much about Sanzo's unannounced desire to stay put and take a breather. They still had a long way to go, and thus far it had not been a fun trip. Every second spent breathing was another second spent cheating death, and even though encountering danger was just peachy, it was never something the kappa truly enjoyed.  
    "Where's Hakkai?" Gojyo asked out loud, pushing the dark thoughts away and looking about in search of the brown-haired, self-designated mother hen of the party. Gojyo's red eyes instantly spotted Hakuryuu snoozing by the window, but of the dragon's master there was no sign.  
    "Eto..." Goku scratched the back of his head. "I dunno. Haven't seen him since last night… he was supposed to go fishing with me, since Sanzo doesn't want to."  
    Sanzo and a fishing rod. That caused Gojyo's grin to widen. _Now that would be a pretty little picture, wouldn't it...?_  
    "I'll go find him. Stay put and don't wreck my house. I've only got one!"  
    Gojyo opened the door with the intention of stepping out...  
    And promptly rammed headlong into Hakkai.  


    "Oh dear, sorry about that... good morning, Gojyo." Hakkai was the first to recover himself, and the brown-haired man beamed up at a surprised Gojyo with unfailing cheer. It was the same smile that hurt Gojyo to look upon, for it never reached Hakkai's green eyes...  
    "Yo." Gojyo forced a grin unto his face, pushing his dark thoughts away. _Fuck, I think too much... pretty soon I'll be brooding and moping around and blowing holes in ceilings like Sanzo._ "Monkey boy here says he wants to go fishing."  
    "Oh?" Hakkai looked past Gojyo just as Goku's stomach grumbled yet again, and smiled. "Alright then. I admit that fishing isn't quite my forte--"  
    "Of course. Blasting youkai to bits is."  
    "--but I'll give it a try anyway; there's a first time for everything after all. Come along, Goku."  
    "Alright!" Goku promptly bounced up with all the exuberance of a 500-year-old demon that had been locked up way too long, and bounded out the door. Gojyo took a moment out to watch Hakkai and Goku as they walked down the road, letting their cheerful voices fill the quiet morning air...  
    "Eh? Where the hell are those two going?" Sanzo appeared at Gojyo's side with a cigarette perched on his lips and that same look of bored concentration written on his features.  
    "Fishing. Want to tag along and make sure Goku doesn't swallow the fishing line?"  
  
  
  


***

  
  
    "You have to hold the fishing rod steady, and cast the line into the water..."  
    "Like this?"  
    "Umm, wrong end, Goku."  
    "Oh!"  


    Hakkai and Goku were seated at the small pier with their bare feet hanging over the water and fishing gear close at hand. The waterfall nearby drowned out all other sound, and their surroundings were rather pleasant...  
    Gojyo watched them from a distance, seated cross-legged beneath the shade of a large tree, smoking through his first cigarette for the day. Sanzo was already on his third; the priest remained on his feet, leaning back against the tree trunk with his arms folded over his chest, gazing up at the fluffy white clouds that were racing across the blue skies.  
    "You haven't yet divulged to us your reasons for stopping."  
    "I'm sick and tired of running errands for three disembodied floating heads. It makes me wonder why they need a mortal errand boy at their beck and call... they can chuck thunderbolts, for crying out loud."  
    "True. Well, I won't pretend to understand the workings of the gods... the path I normally walk is full of booze and gambling. Gimme a good woman with boobs to squeeze, and I'll be happy."  
    "You always think with your dick, don't you?" Sanzo questioned softly, as he turned his Smith and Wesson over and over in his hands.  
    "It's kept me happy all this time, hasn't it?"  
    Sanzo didn't reply. Happiness... what a strange word. That was something he hadn't felt for the longest time...  
    Gojyo watched the priest unobserved, noting the almost sad look that had entered those violet eyes. It was then that he realized that all the walls Sanzo put up around his heart and the armor of arrogance he wore was beginning to chafe him.  


    "Whoa, I think I got one!"  
    "Good, good! Let me help..."  
    Some struggling sounded, followed by a huge splash. Gojyo and Sanzo looked up just in time to see a laughing Hakkai and a VERY sheepish-looking Goku clamber out of the river, soaked to the bone.  
    "Never thought a fish could be THAT strong!" 

    Gojyo looked up to Sanzo's face, and as expected he saw the throbbing blood vessel on blonde man's temple, right over the priest's left eyebrow as always.  
    "Idiots." Sanzo promptly smacked his forehead with his hand. "I... am surrounded... by idiots."  
    "Welcome to the club."  
    "For all we know, they might have snagged a rock!"  


    A few more hours passed by in the sunlight and the warmth, the fishing endeavor turned out fruitful after all... a triumphant Goku marched home with a bundle of fish at hand, even if he and Hakkai were completely waterlogged and utterly soaked.  
    It was past lunchtime by the time the group had returned to Gojyo's house. Hakkai slipped away on the pretense of cooking their meal, and Gojyo (with much scuffling and many a heated word) ordered Goku to go and change. "You are NOT taking another step into my pad until you dry off!"  
    Hakuryuu was flitting about the house, 'piuu-ing' constantly. He was certainly in better spirits after having two days of hot meals and a warm cushion by the windowsill… and perhaps, he wasn't the only one...  
    "Are we gonna stay for longer, Sanzo?" Goku enthusiastically piped in every five seconds at the table as soon as he had returned in a better set of clothes. "Hakkai says I'm getting better at fishing!" he would repeat the cycle every time the blonde priest did not reply, hopping around the room and being the whiny little puppy dog he always was.  
    "Fine!" Sanzo eventually barked, blood vessel in place as always. It was a miracle that he hadn't brought his gun and his fan out either. "Fine, we'll stay... but only until the end of the week! We've delayed long enough!"  
    "Yay!"  


    "Softie," Gojyo muttered as soon as Sanzo had sat back down. The kappa could only grin when he felt the cold muzzle of the priest's Smith and Wesson cocked and pressed to the side of his head.  
    "I dare you to say that again."  
    Gojyo let out a sigh of relief that he hadn't realized he had been holding when Sanzo grunted in response and turned away instead of plugging a bullet through his brain.  
    So the break was doing them some good after all...  


    Hakkai soon arrived with the cooked fish, and Goku dived on it like a rabid dog; he had skeletonized five of them within seconds. It took a few hefty whacks to the head with Sanzo's fan to remind Goku that there were other hungry members in the party, and eventually the group settled down for an almost civilized meal together.  
    "I'm glad that we've decided to settle down for a bit," said Hakkai, smiling at his companions. "The road was getting rather tiresome, don't you agree?"  
    He didn't receive any answers. He didn't need them.  
    In the silence, the four companions continued their meal.  
  
  
  


**End.**


End file.
